Zark's

2012 Budget Woes Turn NASA Away from Mars

The Planet, Mars
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), J. Bell (Cornell University), and M. Wolff (Space Science Institute, Boulder)

Similar to the hard choices being made at all federal agencies for the President's Budget, NASA has dutifully reduced costs, but as a consequence is reducing missions.

All of the NASA budget presentations and handouts are available at their website, but it is difficult to understand what the agency is not going to do.

Obama's budget would cut Mars program, solar system exploration tells that the cuts will cost two joint missions to Mars with the European Space Agency (ESA).  The 2016 mission, Trace Gas Orbiter was planned to survey the Martian atmosphere.  The 2018 mission would have landed a rover to collect rocks and return the samples to Earth.

Aside from the austere federal budget in general, NASA has two problem children: The James Webb Space Telescope and the Space Launch System (SLS).  The new space telescope is substantially over budget, with continuing cost and schedule risks.  The new heavy lift rocket and crew vehicle were mandated by Congress rather than a strong ownership by NASA.

I apologize for the quality of the graphic below, but I predict it will generate another fight with Congress.  NASA continues to press for funding commercial space exploration, while Congress considers national space technology more relevant.  In 2012 through 2015, note all of the commercial launches of SpaceX and Orbital.  My guess is that Congress will tell NASA to focus on its own Space Launch System and let would-be commercial space operators fund their own way.

NASA Launch Schedule - from the FY12 Summary Budget Briefing

Mmm.  I believe NASA and the Department of Energy represent the big engineering and science projects that the national government should fund.  Although it overlaps with the Department of Transportation, I would like additional research and development on new aviation technology.  The U.S. is particularly dependent upon aviation for transportation, and we need 'to break glass' with advancements that are too risky for commercial companies.

 

 

India Declines a Genetically Modified Crop

Western countries know them as eggplants, but the people of India know them as brinjal.  Wiki explains the western name came from the popular variety of brinjal that produced berries resembling goose eggs.  Being a close relative of the tobacco plant, the fruit has more nicotine than any other food crop.

Govt says no to Bt brinjal for now explains Environment and Forests minister, Jairam Ramesh, made the decision based upon the lack of consensus among scientists.  He said that there was no urgency to approve the genetically modified vegetable. 

India puts on hold first GM food crop on safety grounds adds that scientists had voiced approval, but the public was against Bt brinjal.  The plant has undergone field trials since 2008.  Wiki tells that Bt brinjal has the gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis inserted into its DNA. It is considered a transgenic modification because the DNA was transferred across species.

This bacterium is a natural pesticide, which grows in the soil.  Because of its ability to repel insects, it has been introduced into tobacco, corn, and cotton plants since 1985.  The concern is that the genetically-induced toxins might present long-term dangers to humans and livestock.  

Exploring Pompeii Virtually

Thanks to Archeology for highlighting, Pompeii Has Been Added to Google Street View.  Almost all of us learned the story of this ancient city, midway down Italy's western coastline, in elementary school.  It was one of many small, agricultural cities around the base of the volcano.  Mount Vesiuvius erupted in 79 AD and buried the Roman city under 60 feet of ash in places.  Perhaps 20,000 people inhabited the town on August 24, when the volcano rained nine feet of pumice.

Wiki tells there was one historian who witnessed the eruption, Pliny the Younger.  He was across the bay as his uncle sailed for a closer view.  The 17-year old described darkness descending upon the region as the volcano erupted.  A tsunami was generated by a subsequent earthquake.

By clicking here into Google Maps, you can virtually walk through the streets of Pompeii.

Selling Australia

Everyone remembers Crocodile Dundee - the Australia - themed movie that starred Paul Hogan and educated a generation on Australian colloquialisms.  Joy of the outback tells that movie enticed the world to visit Australia.  The government is hoping the new movie, Australia, will do the same thing 25 years later.

Cruel review drive Nicole from Sydney tells that the actress who plays Lady Ashley in the flick has been devastated by the negative reviews from Australia and abroad.  Curiously much of the criticism is whether she had cosmetic surgery.  (What difference does it make?)  Epic Australia: too much of everything tells that the Australian film industry attempted to make the movie too much - everything is overemphasized.  That can be wearying in an almost 3 hour epic.

I am not a film critic, and I have learned to never publicly criticize anyone or anything because inevitably I will sit next to that person on my next flight or otherwise have to personally defend my criticism.  (God has a special pattern for humbling me.) 

The scenery is gorgeous - tourists will indeed be tempted to visit Australia.  In the movie, Lady Ashley travels to Australia in order to force the sale of her outback ranch.  Circumstances occur that change her heart and she decides to make the ranch a success.  A thread running throughout the movie concerns the early Australian racism toward the aborigines.  This occupies the Lady Ashley and her lover/rescuer - the Drover, as they attempt to protect a young boy from Australian authorities and others with hate in their heart.

It is a long flick, and a bit predictable.  However, it is entertaining and provides a different perspective of life.  The sound track is terrific, and the acting (despite the reviews) is big-film quality.  (Now I will not have to sit next to Nicole Kidman on my next flight.)

Australia is a significant thread in my new novel, Butterflies Escape, and this post's title can be applied differently, as will soon be published.